Tiger

Overview

Wild tiger numbers are at an all-time low. We have lost 97% of wild tigers in just over a century. Tigers may be one of the most revered animals, but they are also vulnerable to extinction. As few as 3,200 exist in the wild today.

The largest of all the Asian big cats, tigers rely primarily on sight and sound rather than smell. They typically hunt alone and stalk prey. A tiger can consume up to 88 pounds of meat at one time. On average, tigers give birth to two or three cubs every two years. If all the cubs in one litter die, a second litter may be produced within five months.

Tigers generally gain independence at two years of age and attain sexual maturity at age three or four for females and at four or five years for males. Juvenile mortality is high however—about half of all cubs do not survive more than two years. Tigers have been known to reach the age of 26 years in the wild.

Males of the largest subspecies, the Amur (Siberian) tiger, may weigh up to 660 pounds. For males of the smallest subspecies—the Sumatran tiger—upper range is at around 310 pounds. Within each subspecies, males are heavier than females.

Tigers are mostly solitary, apart from associations between mother and offspring. Individual tigers have a large territory, and the size is determined mostly by the availability of prey. Although individuals do not patrol their territories, they visit them over a period of days or weeks and mark their domain with urine and feces.

Across their range, tigers face unrelenting pressures from poaching, retaliatory killings and habitat loss. They are forced to compete for space with dense and often growing human populations.

Bhutan is home to an amazing 103 wild tigers—an increase from a previous estimate of 75 that was not based on actual field surveys—according to the country’s first-ever tiger survey released on Global Tiger Day Conducted entirely by Bhutanese scientists, the survey spanned habitats ranging from snowy, cold mountains in the north—where both tigers and snow leopards roam wild—down to dense, subtropical forests in the south.

The Tiger Family

Why They Matter

This big cat is both admired and feared by people around the world. If forests are emptied of every last tiger, all that will remain are distant legends and zoo sightings.

The tiger has evolved over thousands of years. Currently, this big cat is being trapped, skinned and pushed out of its home. Those left in the wild cling to survival in a few patches of forest scattered across Asia.

To save tigers, we need to protect the forest habitats across Asia where they live. By saving biologically diverse places, we allow tigers to roam and preserve the many other endangered species that live there. In order to protect just one tiger, we have to conserve around 25,000 acres of forest.

As a large predator, the tiger plays a key role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. These ecosystems supply both nature and people with fresh water, food, and health—which means that by saving tigers, we are helping people too.

Tigers can directly help some of the world’s poorest communities. Where tigers exist, tourists go. And where tourists go, money can be made by communities with few alternatives for income. Tiger conservation projects also help provide alternative livelihoods for rural communities that are not only more sustainable, but can raise income levels too.

Threats

Population
As few as 3,200

Extinction Risk
Endangered

EX

Extinct

No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died

EW

Extinct in the Wild

Known only to survive in cultivation, in captivity or as a naturalised population

CR

Critically Endangered

Facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the Wild

EN

Endangered

Facing a high risk of extinction in the Wild

VU

Vulnerable

Facing a high risk of extinction in the Wild

NT

Near Threatened

Likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future

LC

Least Concern

Does not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, or Near Threatened

Every part of the tiger—from whisker to tail—is traded in illegal wildlife markets. Poaching is the most immediate threat to wild tigers. In relentless demand, their parts are used for traditional medicine, folk remedies and increasingly as status symbols among some Asian cultures.

There are usually limited resources for guarding protected areas in the countries where tigers live. Even countries with strong enforcement of tiger protection laws fight a never-ending battle against poaching. In Indochina and China, poaching is so pervasive that thousands of forest acres stand empty of tigers.

The impact from the death of a single tiger at the hands of poachers reaches beyond one single loss. If a female tiger with cubs is killed, her cubs will likely die without their mother. Also, the female's potential for future breeding is lost. If a male is killed, his death can result in intensive competition for his territory among surviving males in the population, creating disruption in further breeding by those males.

Habitat loss

Tigers have lost 93% of their historical range. Their habitat has been destroyed, degraded and fragmented by human activities.The clearing of forests for agriculture and timber as well as the building of road networks and other development activities pose serious threats to tiger habitats. Fewer tigers can survive in small, scattered islands of habitat, which leads to a higher risk of inbreeding and makes tigers more vulnerable to poaching.

Human Wildlife Conflict

People and tigers increasingly compete for space. The conflict threatens the world’s remaining wild tigers and poses a major problem for communities living in or near forests with tigers. As forests shrink and prey gets scarce, tigers are forced to hunt domestic livestock, which many local communities depend on for their livelihood. In retaliation, tigers are killed or captured. “Conflict” tigers are known to end up for sale in black markets. Local community dependence on forests for fuelwood, food and timber heightens the risk of tiger attacks on people.

One of the world’s largest tiger populations is found in the Sundarbans—a large mangrove forest area shared by India and Bangladesh on the northern coast of the Indian Ocean. This area harbors Bengal tigers and protects coastal regions from storm surges and wind damage. However, rising sea levels caused by climate change threaten to wipe out these forests and the last remaining habitat of this tiger population. According to a WWF study, without mitigation efforts, projected sea level rise—about a foot by 2070—could destroy nearly the entire Sundarbans tiger habitat.

“Saving tigers is simple. All they need is enough prey, space and protection. The difficult part is securing unswerving long-term commitment from the world to save this species.”

Dr. Barney LongAsian Species Expert

What WWF Is Doing

Installing a camera trap in Tesso Nilo National Park, Indonesia. Camera traps are everyday cameras, armed with infrared sensors that take a picture whenever they sense movement in the forest.

We can save wild tigers. In 2010, the 13 tiger range countries committed to TX2—to double wild tiger numbers by 2022, the next Year of the Tiger. WWF is driving TX2 forward.

Zero poaching

WWF works to enforce zero tolerance for tiger poaching across Asia. We help create dedicated enforcement units in each landscape and install the best new technologies to assist local agencies in achieving maximum results. We invest in stronger law enforcement by improving the effectiveness of wildlife rangers, training personnel from enforcement agencies and empowering community patrols and enforcement networks.

Protecting and Connecting Tiger Habitat

Tigers need landscapes to thrive, and our work to protect and connect their fragile habitat is based on rigorous scientific analysis. WWF has chosen places to focus its resources based on the best available science. These areas are where densities of prey and tigers are at their highest. The locations encompass tiger corridors that link tiger sites within landscapes. Our work includes building local capacity to manage protected areas and coordinating with partners to manage core tiger areas and corridors.

Monitoring Tigers and Their Prey

Monitoring tigers and their prey is essential to achieving our goal of doubling wild tiger populations. By employing camera traps, tracking technologies and DNA collected from scat (droppings), we scrutinize the progress of tiger populations in order to adapt our strategies and make conservation decisions based on strong science and field experience.

Building Political Will

WWF helps governments across the 13 tiger range countries to respect wild tigers as a valuable asset that can enhance their development agendas. By linking tiger conservation with forest preservation and carbon sequestration efforts, tiger range nations and their partners can demonstrate their commitment to promoting a healthy environmental and economic future.

Eliminating Tiger Trade

Trade in tiger parts and products is a major threat to wild tiger survival. Together with TRAFFIC, the global wildlife trade monitoring network, we implement strategies to stop wildlife criminal networks, help governments shut down black markets, and change consumer behavior. We conduct investigations to document the tiger trade, catalyze action against it, and train enforcement agencies. We continue to champion transnational wildlife enforcement networks and build strategies to reduce demand for tiger parts and products.

Global leaders shared their insights on the growing crisis of wildlife crime at the 2012 Fuller Symposium. The symposium was held on November 14, 2012 at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C.